Geeky Faye Art: Standing Up To Second Hand Smoke - Real Time Detection With LED Necklace

Second-hand smoke or passive smoking is not as passive as you might think, it can have serious implications for your health. Most people who choose to smoke know the health issues that smoking can cause to their bodies. However, it's only very recently that the effects of second-hand smoke or passive smoking have started to be more recognised and widely acknowledged. Commercial venues such as pubs and restaurants have banned indoor smoking, with many venues creating restricted areas outside for their patrons who choose to smoke. In the workplace, smoking indoors is mostly banned these days, again the outdoor smoking shed has become a social go-to zone for smokers.

So outdoor smoking is safe right, well no, it's not as safe as you may think?

You'd think that being outside is enough to remove potential issues, but the fact is this, inhaling second-hand outdoors is 50 times more toxic than inhaling ambient outdoor air. Remember this ambient air will also have some form of pollution contained within.

In summer it's common to walk past outdoor cafes and street bars where smoking is considered socially acceptable. Sitting down to have a coffee and if those nearby choose to smoke then so are you, albeit passively. Passive smoking raises your risk of the same diseases as regular smokers such as lung cancer and heart disease. It's important to understand that smokers do not wish to impact your health any more than say a motorist who drives down your street. Visualisation of the issues in a non-confrontational way is one of the approaches that seems a great way to highlight awareness.

So, with this in mind, and as an avid non-smoker myself, what better way forward than to introduce Allie Katz of Geeky Faye Art to explain the concept of the statement necklace.

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The Drawing shows the necklace is composed of linked strings of dense LEDs, these make up a custom matrix (reference), powered by Arduino Nano and a battery at the back of the neck. There is also a potential for a small buzzer for vibration notification.

The project will use a small microcontroller, such as the TinyPICO V2, to drive the LEDs and receive the data from the sensor. The LEDs themselves will be Neopixels from Adafruit, and the custom-designed housing for the electronics will be 3D designed and printed in highly flexible Recreus TPU. Precise components are still being worked out, but the results should be excellent!

Remember; well-executed, bright and vibrant wearables are difficult to ignore, so we invite you to follow Allie right here on DesignSpark to see how this exciting project progresses.